Industry and Manufacturing Ziarat
Introduction
Ziarat district had 143 industrial and commercial establishments in 1993-94, according to the official counts. The exact existing (1997) number of enterprises of different types and their employees is not available from any source. Therefore, the walk, talk, and see methods had to be deployed to arrive at a rough estimate in this regard. Even by most guarded and rough estimates, both the number of enterprises and that of employees must be more than recorded in 1993-94. Numerous regular shops have been constructed in recent years and many more are under construction. Besides regular shops, there are numerous vendors in every locality. Their number would be no less than that of regular shops, except in Ziarat town where vendors are not as many as in Bazars of Kawas, Zandra and Kach.
Ziarat Residency in Winter.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing/milling units existing in the district cater only to the local demand. These units include flour mills; motor/cycle workshops; artisans shops, etc. On the whole there is not much to report on manufacturing/ milling activity in the area presently.
Trade (import/export)
No information is available on trade within the district and between the district and other areas.
Tourism (picnic/archeological spots)
Ziarat is a famous and popular tourist resort of Balochistan. It attracts tourists from as far as Karachi, and a few from Punjab. Several thousand tourists visit Ziarat town, mostly during April - August. On weekends, hundreds of young and old visitors come to the town on a day trip. There are six hotels and thirteen rest houses in Ziarat town. In the peak of the tourist season, they are unable to provide accommodation to all visitors. The existing facilities for tourists are wholly inadequate. The district tourist attractions are still not fully explored and developed. Much scope exists in this respect.
PTDC Hotel at Ziarat.
Handicrafts
Existence of handicraft activity is reported in this district, but data on the kind and scale of handicrafts is not available. Shops in Ziarat town are seen selling pieces of embroidery, hand bags, decoration tapestry, etc. made by rural women of Ziarat district. No information is available on where these are made, how regularly, and on what scale.
Department of Small and Medium Enterprise and Industrial Development
The Small Industries Development Board, Government of Balochistan, has a carpet manufacture and training centre at Zindra. It is headed by a Manager. It is meant mainly for providing training to boys.
GO/NGO/SME, etc. involvement in Industrial Development
Coverage Commercial Services |
Local Govt. |
Prov. Govt. |
Fed. Govt. |
NGO |
Internat. Donor |
Private Entr. |
||
| Vocational Training | - |
xxx |
- |
x |
- |
- |
||
| Management Training | - |
xxx |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||
| Acquisition | - |
xxx |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||
| Public Relations | - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||
| Credit | - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
xxx |
||
| Marketing | - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
xxx |
||
| Legend: | - x xx xxx |
no involvement minor involvement substantial involvement major involvement |
||||||
Conclusion and major Development Issues
The district does not have any industry worth mentioning. Its commercial sector, catering to local consumers demand, has however, registered considerable expansion. Much of the commercial activity in Ziarat town is depending on tourism which is at its peak during May - August. Facilities for tourists are not adequate, and that is a great hurdle to tourists inflow. Handicraft industry can be developed by providing incentives, such as training and loans to the local women who are apt in the art of embroidery. With a view on the cultural constrains, this can be developed as a home industry.